Selling Superman (2024) Movie Review
After I finished watching the four-part documentary series Selling Superman, I asked several people if they felt they were passionate about something. Some of them had answers, but none could justify why they were passionate about that certain subject. I gave up at some point, but then, in the end, I also scolded myself because there I was, asking questions about something as personal as passion. We all have that, and we are all entitled to whatever we want to be passionate about, even if it’s just a piece of paper.
Selling Superman is a journey through a world of mystery and unanswered questions. In the film, we take a very deep dive into the sea of comic book collecting and one family’s confrontation with an absurd version of that. Yes, director Adam Schomer provides a spectacular backdrop that will give you an idea of what collecting comic books is all about, but in the end, you’re supposed to ask questions. There is no limit to what a comic book fan will do to get their hands on their holy grail, and Selling Superman is a fantastic representation of this affirmation.
When does passion become an obsession? Is it only when you can’t achieve what you’re supposed to accomplish? In this world, the currency is the dollar. But it can also be the priced, high-graded comic books that no one has in stock. The ones that came out in the middle of the 20th century, and some kid bought and traded with others. Some saved them. And some made a living out of saving them. The series focuses on Darren Watts, a family man who discovers his dad had a secret life, much like a superhero. However, it wasn’t as ideal as you would have thought. Darren’s father faced Asperger’s, and his family was the victim of emotional abuse and neglect. Darren steps up and tries to make something out of his father’s legacy because behind his obsessive attitude, he hid a treasure. Decades of collecting comic books, and the man had the most prized one: Superman #1.
But again, the documentary is not an uplifting navigation through Darren’s discovery of the gold mine his family is sitting on. On the contrary, Schomer makes a compelling film that is as unforgiving as it is exciting. If you got to this review because you went to Google, you may have found Darren Watts is not exactly a celebrated man on the internet. He has some detractors, and this documentary will show you the probable reason.
Selling Superman is about Darren trying to solve his own dilemma while trying to do what’s right. There’s no question about it, regardless of what some people on the internet have said. There’s no doubt that the attention he got was because of a dark past, and he’s not keen on exploring that side of his upbringing. Nevertheless, it seems he doesn’t really want to let it go. Luckily, before trying to be a biased filmmaker, Schomer steps aside and lets viewers make their own decisions.
The documentary series is an impactful journey through a culture that not many will understand. Why would you pay millions for something you will never read? Just because you can say you have one? Yes, it’s a harsh and shallow take, but you will find yourself changing your mind. Did I care about Darren in the end? Not exactly, but I cared for a culture of pure passion that’s the driving force behind the movie industry today. When it comes to documentaries about fandom, there aren’t many as exciting as this one because Selling Superman dares to ask the awkward questions while inserting a surprising amount of suspense. Few films impacted me this year, and Selling Superman was one of them.
